1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a steerable wheel assembly and, more specifically, an improved wheel assembly that, when installed on roller skates or the like, provides excellent control capability while using one leg, two legs or executing relatively small radius sharp turns.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As indicated in FIG. 1, a conventional roller skate (10) consists of a number of assembled parts, including a boot (11), a base plate (12), a shock reducer (13), four wheels (14), axles (15) and a movement controller (16).
Such conventional roller skates have a fixed axle design so there is no way to directly execute a turn and the height of the legs above the ground must be adjusted to change the skating direction. More specifically, during the execution of a turn, the outer leg must be lifted and placed in front of the inner leg and only after the completion of this action can the body be turned in the desired direction. As a result, the utilization of a conventional roller skate produces the following disadvantages during the execution of turns:
First, since the conventional roller skate is turned indirectly, control is inadequate and it is difficult for beginning skaters to master the required technique.
Second, since only one foot is on the ground during a turn when using conventional skates, overall skating stability is reduced and it is firstly easy to slip and fall because of the imbalanced center of gravity.
Third, conventional roller skates exhibit a relatively large turning radius during turn execution and therefore require larger rink areas to afford sufficient skating.
Fourth, it is impossible to turn on one foot only with conventional roller skates since both feet must be alternated in position to complete the turn and, therefore, no other skating maneuvers can be performed while executing a turn.